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February/March 2014


INDUSTRY NEWS HEADLINES


NRECA Speaks Out for Co-ops Before Proposed EPA Standards Take Effect


NRECA/AP/Bloomburg—As demonstrated by cold snaps just this winter, natural gas prices are volatile and spike even during shorter-term weather events. This has an immediate adverse effect on consumer electric bills. Coal, and its stable price is a long-term proven hedge against natural gas volatility and is critical if we are to continue to provide affordable electricity for our members. While new, unconventional natural gas supply from shale has played a huge role in lowering natural gas prices, even this increased gas supply has not changed the built-in volatility of natural gas. This is because price volatility is correlated with business cycles, weather extremes, and pipeline infrastructure issues. Again, we are experiencing this with the 2014 winter weather across much of the nation. There are many areas of the country that either 1) have insufficient access to natural gas, 2) do not have suitable sites for CO2 storage or enhanced oil recovery sites, or 3) cannot be


supplied wholesale power reliably through the existing transmission grid. How will the EPA reconcile elimination of new coal-fired capacity in these situations? Clean Air Act precedent is that the best system of emission reduction is based on data from existing plants in the US and worldwide as appropriate. In view of existing performance and what can be reasonably anticipated, we think the best system is defined by improvements in thermal efficiency, an option that EPA has considered and rejected in this proposal. We think this proposal will be a setback for CO2 capture research, development, and demonstration. If, as even the EPA suggests, no coal plants are being built, there will be even less support from the private sector for continued investment in the expensive and unproven CO2 capture development. And, consequently, CO2 capture won’t be available to use fossil fuels as energy in a carbon constrained future neither in the US nor around the world.


(www.nreca.coop/electric-co-ops-warn-epa-impact-removing-coal-fuel-mix-hearing)


Norman, Oklahoma


News Magazine


5


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